Fall of the Phoenix
by saranwraps
Summary: A whole new adventure begins six years after the war, with our lovable protagonists and interesting new characters. It seems that war and bloodshed is difficult to gain and keep as a whole new battle looms over the country, threatening to sweep through. A whirlwind of emotions trail behind, leaving nothing but broken shards and bleeding steps.


Stretching across the land endlessly, the golden sand filled every visible space. Alone, a minuscule figure compared to the vastness of the desert trudged across the scorching ground. Despite having travelled around the world quite a bit as a child, the girl was no match for the unmerciful weather ranging from sand storms to the chilling temperature during the evenings in this golden abyss.

She lifts her heavy lids and her hazel eyes scan the horizon and wonders when she was going to arrive at her destination. The capsule felt heavy in her hands despite how little water was present, and the bag seemed to weigh several tons on her back. The lady's eyes blurrs out of focus as her knees gives in. The sand cushions her landing, and any rational reasoning disappears as she's dragged into unconsciousness. The last thing her mind could conjure was a curse towards the Xing Emperor.

With effort, the lady forces her eyes open and rubs the drowsiness out of them. Unfamiliar surroundings comes into view and all at once, reality pulls her out of the hazy state of lethargy. Immediately her hands are ready to send deadly shards of ice through anything that showed signs of ill intent towards her. But with a small cry of bewilderment, she realizes her gloves were missing. Suspicious eyes examine the room, only to find it to be empty. The last thing she could remember was the seemingly never ending sand that pricked at her eyes every time a current picked up and even that, was a cloudy memory due to her being only half aware of her environment as a result of lack of food.

The curtains were drawn in the bedroom but bright rays of sunlight still managed to peek through the cracks. Carefully she plants herself on both feet, testing how well her legs were working. The muscles strains against her weight and wavers slightly as though protesting. She swings her arms in a circular motion to get rid of the numbness sleep has induced.

She pries the curtains open slightly and takes a glance outside. To her surprise, it was a street filled with busy..._people? _

"What in the world," she trails off and her eyes widen in amazement, "don't tell me I'm finally here." Her eyes stay fixed onto the bustling citizens, and grins, "Hell yes I'm here."

The sound of creaking floorboards snaps the girl out of her reverie and she turns towards the door, prepared to defend herself. A gruff looking man, possibly in his late forties appears with stubble covering his chin. A few strands of white hair stand out against his dark brown hair. She narrows her eyes at him, showing her hostility by sifting into a defensive stance.

The man doesn't falter and shoots a glare at her, "Is this how you repay the doctor who's nursed and let you rest in his house for the last three days?"

Her arms are still raised in a protective stance, but the sharp words she had ready never leave her mouth as she stops to revaluate the man, "Who are you?" is the only question the lady can splutter out.

"The doctor who had to take care of you for the last three days, I just said. Has the sand impaired your hearing as well?"

"What is your name?" she ignores his impatient tone.

"I should be asking you that."

"Answer me first."

"That's it, I'm calling Alphonse," he turns around and heads out the bedroom, "Stupid Elric Brothers, always bringing me patients. This was supposed to be a vacation."

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" she follows after him but halts when she sees the piles of books and papers stacked on top of each other everywhere. This was a poor excuse of a living room, or was it his work place? She couldn't really tell.

Suddenly, she remembers what the Emperor had told her before he sent her out into the desert with food rations for only a week and a poorly drawn map of where she should've been able to collect more food along the trip. _That__dumbass, _she scowls in disdain, _you gave me a shitty map and I had to pay the price for it. _

"I'm looking for somebody named Roy Mustang."

She concluded that if the man wasn't the doctor he claimed to be, she would still easily be able to kill him in a one on one fight. He was old and had poor posture, if anything, she should be able to out maneuver him and escape if he did prove to be a worthy opponent.

He ignored her and waited impatiently for the receiver of the call to pick up. When the call finally went through, he shouted angrily, "Alphonse! The lady you brought here has woken up, and from the looks of it, she's in high spirits. So get your ass here and get her out of here." A slight pause as the receiver replies. "Oh, and she says she's looking for Mustang." With that, he slams the phone down roughly and proceeds to do whatever business he was attending to before his patient woke up.

"Where are my gloves?" she asks.

"On the table in the living room."

_Ah, so this was his workplace. _

"You're just going to let me grab my gloves? You do know what those are, right?"

He scoffs, "Don't take me for a fool. Grab your little alchemy gloves and don't bother me. This was supposed to be a vacation from work before you showed up."

"Can I leave?" By now, she was no longer holding up her martial arts stance, and is leaning against the doorway.

He shoots her a glare, "No, stay put until Alphonse is here to pick you up. You're my patient and you're obviously a foreigner, you'll get lost if you leave now."

"I could leave now, and not bother you while you enjoy your little _vacation _here," she tries to muffle her snicker but it was in vain.

"Fine, do leave. I'll like to see how you fare in such a big city," he waves his hands dismissively, but his eyes issued a challenge.

"Fine. I will."

"Door's down the hallway, to your right."

She was quite glad he decided to point her towards the exit, because if that wasn't the case, she would've ended up looking like an idiot searching for it. She grabs her bag and gloves from the table and makes sure her footsteps came out heavier than usual. Before she left, she wanted to ask him where exactly she was. From what she learned, this country was split into five divisions, and she's looking for the Southern Headquarters. Despite not knowing where she was, or how to arrive at the Southern Headquarters, she left with her head held high and pride intact, and in her mind, it would be worth the next few hours she would be spending trying to get around the city.

The streets were a twisting maze and even worse than the girl had imagined.

"Elizabeth? No, that's too long, Eliza?" she mumbled to herself as she scurried through the main streets, "Eliza, I think I can remember that. Eliza Mirth? Sounds pretty Amestrisian to me." She repeats the name a few more times off her tongue, and decides that she likes how it sounds. "As of today, I am Eliza Mirth."

A smile stretches across her face at the thought of a new alias in this foreign country. Among the many stalls stationed down the street, an old lady with a display of jewelry catches her eye. The gems sparkled brilliantly and Eliza couldn't help but walk closer to inspect the beautiful gemstones. With an impressed smile, her hands land on a dark purple bracelet. The gem was small, but it attracted plenty of attention due to the simple woven patterns of the sides. It was embossed in the perfect style, and it reminded her immediately of the designs from Xing. The


End file.
